


He remembers

by GhostyGirl01



Category: Rick and Morty
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Angst, Death, Gen, Implied/Referenced Torture, Origins, more tags will be added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-29
Updated: 2017-10-25
Packaged: 2018-12-21 04:28:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11936316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhostyGirl01/pseuds/GhostyGirl01
Summary: Morty still remembers





	1. Memories I wish I could forget

Morty still remembered.

He still remembered the cool feel of the metal, as the oversized gun was thrust into his shaky hands. It was heavy and difficult to keep hold of, although that didn’t register in his mind at the time. No, the sounds of aliens yelling and gunfire was what kept his mind busy, as he kept his back pressed to the wall.

 

_“Morty! Cover me!”_

 

What a simple statement... And yet it still haunted him to this day.

He remembered looking down at the weapon with uncertainty, too afraid to move, then looking back up just in time to see a stray laser beam hit his head.

Brain matter flew everywhere, he remembered some of it getting on his shoes and staining them bright red like a rose... Morty hadn’t seen flowers in a long time.

He remembered the tall body falling lifelessly to the floor. Crumpling, as if all his bones had melted just like his brain seemingly had. In an instant, Morty was surrounded by the strange bug-like monstrosities that seemed to be a kind of alien law enforcement. They screamed at him to drop the weapon. He had forgotten he was even holding it.

 

Morty didn’t remember anything else from that night.

They drugged and contained him, as if he were some primitive animal. He supposed though, he kind of was to them.

Morty wished he didn’t remember what happened next. He wished his memory would just go blank, would block out all the things they did and said to him, stretching out those years into decades of sleep deprivation, starvation and brutal beatings. Morty wished he could have told them what they wanted to know, he really did. But Rick hadn’t told him anything before his brains had been splattered around the room; dimension number, portal technology, the council... He had no idea. No doubt they just thought he was protecting Rick... Or, the many other versions he has been told existed.

When they said that, Morty remembered a glimmer of hope blossoming in his heart. Another Rick would come, would save him from this nightmare! After all, Ricks cared about their Morties... Didn’t they?

 

No one ever came.

 

Slowly, as the weeks became months and the months became years, the hope he held in his heart grew dimmer and dimmer until it finally went out. And Morty realized that he was going to die in here.

He still remembered.

Remembered his fathers laugh, remembered the way Summer would playfully ruffle his hair from time to time, Remembered his mom’s cooking... Remembered the way Rick’s head split open like a watermelon.

 

Morty wished he could forget.


	2. Day 1257

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It happened on a Friday

It was on the third feeding day that he came.

Normally Morty was fed three times a week, and while he’d long forgotten days or time, he could still count to two. Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Or that’s what he assumed it was since that seemed to be how far apart the meals came.

He said _meals_ but he didn’t really mean that. What came was a large circular tin filled with a grey, jostling paste. It smelled like death and tasted like poison and at first he had thought it was, thought they were putting him out of his misery.

Unfortunately there was no such luck.

Like clockwork, the small hatch on his metallic door slid open and the container was pushed half haphazardly into his dungeon of a room, spilling almost a third of it’s continents onto the cold stone floor.

Morty didn’t even bat an eye.

He knew the routine from back to front; food, sleep, torture. They tormented him horribly every day, although in fairness they had toned it down when they realised he really didn’t know anything. Now Morty just suspected every time they were bored he was their little play thing. Their little human stress reliever. It made him want to scream. But if he started to act out they would take him to what he assumed was the medical ward, and God knows he didn’t ever want to go there.  
Not that there was a God. Not anymore.

Only this time something else happened. Something he would have never expected in a million years, and it felt like he had already been here twice as long.  
The hatch stayed open. Alarms started to blare and the bug-like creature yelled, rushing off with the others and leaving Morty in perpetual confusion.

They never forgot to close it. Not ever.  
And yet here it was: wide open.

The hatch itself was small, around the size of that soccor ball he’d gotten for his birthday one year. Morty still remembered that.  
But he wasn’t about to let freedom slip through his fingers like the disgusting grey paste so often did. In all honesty it was just a puddle of shit with no actually solids in. He hated it so much…

Standing, Morty moved over to the door and ran a rough hand over it before crouching down to the open hatch. It was peppered with dints from where he’d kicked it once upon a time. Morty had tried to get out, he never had.

Until now.

After checking to see if anyone was out there, if anyone was waiting to see if he took the bait, Morty slowly started to squeeze through the hatch. It was tight on his shoulders, painfully so, but he was thin anyway so it was literally just his bones that he had to coerce through the gap.

It couldn’t have taken more than five minutes to get out but it felt so much longer. What if someone came past? What if he got stuck and they beat him for it? What if it was a brain scanning simulation? Those were the worst…

The second he stood up, alone and naked in one of the many corridors, Morty wasn’t sure what to do next. He had never been out here unescorted and almost expected to feel the familiar jab of the gun on his back, forcing him to walk forwards.

Now he could walk wherever he wanted….

After taking a few breathes to steady himself, Morty started to walk. He assumed it was a good idea to move away from the sounds of yelling and gunfire, since they would no doubt have him in their sights next should they spot him.  
Funny, now that he was out he almost didn’t want to die immediately.

With one hand brushing carelessly against the wall and the other hanging uselessly at his side, he moved as fast as he could through the corridors.

The sounds of screaming and explosions got quieter, which gave him more and more confidence. Surely, if he just kept moving, he could find some kind of exit or escape shuttle or even a weapon to arm himself with? There had to be something to get him out of here.

As he rounded the corner, shakily walking as fast as his body would let him, Morty found it. The thing that would help him escape.  
Or rather, Rick found him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm coming back to this. I wasn't sure where to go but hopefully I'll make it interesting, no matter what. Thoughts always welcomed ^^


	3. You again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morty and Rick meet again after so long.
> 
> For both of them.

For what seemed like an eternity, the two stared at each other. Morty didn’t know how he looked, he hadn’t seen a mirror ever since he’d gotten to this place, but from the mixture of confusion and horror on Rick’s face, he assumed it wasn’t great.

Wait what was he talking about?  
Rick was dead! That was the whole reason he was here, because he’s selfishly died and left Morty stranded in some government base.

Suddenly, with no warning, he turned and bolted down the corridor. This couldn’t be real, there couldn’t be Rick just wandering around the minute Morty gets out! It had to be a trick, something done to taunt and trick his fragile, broken mind.  
He was vaguely aware of the sound of footsteps behind him, quick and loud, which meant Rick was giving chase. Morty didn’t look back. All he knew was that he had to get away from this imposter, had to find some way to escape.

Morty had never been fit. Running was always part of his life with Rick; the police, enemies, friends, business partners, it didn’t matter. They always had to run. But since he’d been imprisoned, his muscles had wasted away and he was quickly slowing down, malnourished and exhausted. It was only when his vision returned to color from the blacks and purples it had been, that Morty realized he’d been hit by a stray laser bullet. The injury was tiny, just a tiny burn on his left shoulder where it had grazed him, but it made Morty figure out that in his desperation to get away from the Rick imposter, he’d ran towards the gunfire of his monstrous captors.

There was no way out of this. They had long figured out he was useless anyway, just a broken plaything who used up resources. Morty didn’t have any doubts that they’d open fire on him so he just covered his face with his in hopes that they’d get it over and done with quickly.

But as the gunfire continued, mixed with the occasional screams of pain from the other side, Morty started to wonder why he hadn’t been shot again. They couldn’t be missing, he was totally exposed!  
After a minute, he dared to look and saw that Rick had long since caught up with him and was returning fire, actually reducing their numbers too! Morty put a hand out but it hit something he couldn’t see. A wall… A bubble? Looking up, he noticed a small grey slab of technology floating above him, which he supposed explained the force field-like bubble he was stood in and the fact he hadn’t been torn to shreds by the gunfire already.

Slowly, methodically, the insectoid soldiers that had kept him here all this time were taken out by Rick, who was looking down at Morty silently.

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on or-or who you belonged to,” Rick started, occasionally stifling a beltch, raising so many questions and emotions in Morty “but we don’t have time to disc—time to talk here. His place pumps out Gromflomites like a b-bitch.”  
With that said, Rick started off down the hall and Morty was left to catch up, finding it very weird how the force field machine floated with him like it knew who to protect.

“Wish I could just-just portal us outta here, Morty, but there’s stuff on the walls and floor that deflects 'em,” Rick said idly, reaching out a hand to run along a corridor wall to demonstrate.  
Morty raised an eyebrow. Then how has Rick gotten in..?  
The scientist grinned when he caught the look on Morty’s face. “The bathroom. They didn’t expect anyone to learn the coordinates for their little bathroom but that’s what they get— that’s what happens when you p-plan poorly!”

Morty had never expected to escape his tormentors in the bathroom.  
Rick didn’t waste a moment, shooting open a swirling green portal onto the wall and gesturing for Morty to go through. But he couldn’t take a single step. Everything was happening so quickly… He was almost afraid he’d step through that sickly green and yellow portal and wake up back in his cell.

But Rick wasn’t willing to wait around for them to be caught so he reached out and pushed, causing Morty to stumble through and out onto the other side.

He collapsed onto the ground, feeling the soft carpet on his bare body. It smelled like dogs. He had had a dog once…   
Laying there, he couldn’t help but tune out his noisy surroundings. Two women were yelling, crying, trying to embrace him through the force field. Rick was talking somewhere in the background, though about what Morty couldn’t tell.

As he faded into unconsciousness, exhaustion and hunger washing over him, Morty did something he hadn’t done for as long as he could remember.

Morty smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Progress!


	4. New yet familiar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morty wakes up somewhere new... Yet familiar

When he woke up, he didn’t dare open his eyes.   
Everything had happens so suddenly yesterday that he worried none of it was real. Worried that he’d open his eyes and spot two large, red ones peering back at him. He’d have all kind of wires in his head, his brain, and they’d know how he’d try to escape and make sure it could never happen!

But Morty couldn’t spend the rest of his life with his eyes closed, no matter what he told himself. Slowly, painfully, he slipped open his eyes and looked around. Instead of the usual grey rooms, metallic and cold, he found himself somewhere new yet... Familiar. 

The walls were cream, though worn down slightly with a few cracks in the paint, which suggested they’d remained untouched for at least a few years. The carpet was a sickly vomit green with one or two stains on it, which really set apart the dulled red desk over in the corner of the room next to the door. Overall it was very normal. Morty wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

After glancing around the room for a few minutes, he slowly sat up and pulled the greenish/greyish covers off himself, quickly noticing that he’d been cleaned up slightly and boxers had been put on him. Idly, he ran his fingers over the many scars and bruises that dotted his body like some kind of sick canvas then exhaled.

The door didn’t have any kind of lock on it so he headed out the moment he thought he was stable enough to stand. Opening doors by himself felt odd, especially wooden ones, but he tried not to let fear consume him as he slowly made his way along the landing and then downstairs.

Eventually he rounded a corner and found himself stood in the kitchen doorway, where three sets of eyes fell upon him; Summer's, Beth's and Rick’s. For a moment, there was complete silence. It seemed like no one knew what to say, let alone Morty, and no one wanted to be the first to break the air anyway. After what seemed like an eternity, Beth cleared her throat and then Rick waved Morty over, which he responded to by slowly making his way over to the them.  
“Hey... How are you feeling, Morty?” Summer asked, her tone quieter and softer than usual. They all waited for a response, Morty included, before Beth spoke up herself.   
“Oh! I thought you’d probably be hungry honey so I made you pancakes. Just the way you like them, remember?” She held out a plate full of thick, syrupy pancakes, still slight warm. The smell alone made Morty feel nauseated and he had to take a step back.

“Jesus Beth, you can’t start shoving pancakes down his throat the first day he gets back! Ha-hav— don’t you see how skinny he is?” Rick scolded, taking the plate from her hands and setting it down on the kitchen counter.  
“We need to give him sm-auugh-all portions of plain foods so we don't shock his system.”

Beth visibly winced at the thought of her not knowing how to feed her son and went quiet herself.  
Morty though, hadn’t said a word yet. Between the bombardment of questions and the food shoved in his face, he hadn’t been able to get a word in edgewise! Not that he even knew what to really say. Everything was happening so fast and he had so, so many questions...

After a few more seconds, Rick put his hand on Morty's shoulder, causing him to jump, and speaks once more   
“I’m gon-gonna take Morty to the garage, answer a few questions for him and see how he’s feeling. Take it slow, y’know?”  
Beth and Summer both nod and before he knows it, Morty's being escorted out if the kitchen and into the garage. At least now he’d get some answers... Hopefully.


	5. Okay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick explains everything

The garage smelled metallic, like copper, and it made Morty wrinkle his nose slightly. The house smelled sweet like the sickly pancakes he’d been unable to eat and while both scents were an assault on his senses, he definitely preferred the sweetness and warmth of that than this.

Rick lead Morty to a well used swivel chair and let him sit, taking a few minutes to organize his thoughts before speaking to the pale, skinny teenager.  
“Let’s see… So you know me. I’m Ri-Rick, that was Beth and Summer. Grandpa, mom, sister. You geauught that?”

  
Morty nodded silently. Rick analyzed his face, though what he was looking for Morty didn’t know.

  
“Okay,” he continued, pinching the bridge of his nose for a moment while he thought of what to say next. This Morty was clearly very broken, emotionally and physically, and Rick didn’t want to add to that damage. But at the same time they both had to share some knowledge to be able to get a better idea of each other.  
“So-so-so you know where I got you from? It’s a pretty fucked up place. Basically it’s a glorified file cabinet but think of the files as living beings; they do everything they can to get all the information out of you, there’s hundreds of aliens there from all di-different kinds of quadrants.”

  
Morty listened intently, something Rick picked up on. He swallowed dryly before continuing.  
“They killed me then imprisoned you for almost three and a half years. Isn’t that right?”

Morty felt his stomach drop. He wasn’t sure about how long it had been but there was no way Rick could have known that… No way he could have guessed, read his mind, it was impossible!

Noticing the way Morty stared, the way his already colourless body seemed to turn ashen, Rick sighed. He may as well just tell him now and get it over with.  
“My name is Rick F-240-B. The dimension I got you from was F-240-A. In my dimension it wasn’t me who got killed, it was my…” Rick trailed off, leaving the two in dead silence.

Morty opened his mouth then closed it again, unsure what he’d even say. _Sorry? What? Where have you been all these years?_

Rick stared at him, expecting something. It was odd, but he hadn’t heard Morty say one thing since he got him two days ago. Maybe it was the shock of it all. Maybe he couldn’t talk at all, muted by those heartless paper pushing bastards when he didn’t have any information. That thought alone made his blood boil…

  
When nothing was said, Rick stood up and headed for the door.  
“I’m gonna help-help Beth make you some food,” he said, his back to Morty who was still watching him,

“You can… Just stay out of trouble, okay?”

With that, he twisted the doorknob to leave but as he did, he heard the faintest noise behind him.  
“Okay…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like these chapters are too short?
> 
> It took an hour to write I thought it'd take an hour to read!


	6. Vivid memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It had been so... Vivid.

Rick has been on enough planets to know how to deal with a malnourished being. Give them light food, like watered down milk, be gentle with their frail bodies and just basically don’t be a dick.   
The first two things he could do, the third? Not so much.

He was eager to get back out there, to collect all the junk he said was important but often ended up in the trash. Rick was antsy to feed this Morty up so they could head back out into space. Things could go back how they used to be! Sure this wasn’t his original Morty but it was the closest he’d ever get to him and Rick wasn’t about to screw thing up.  
Not again. Not with this one.

“Come on, Morty, keep eating,” Rick told the skinny teen, nursing his bottle while he paced around the kitchen. Beth watched from the doorway, noticing how feverishly Morty ate the watered down oatmeal and how impatient Rick seemed to be.

“Dad,” she started, speaking cautiously “I know you’re excited to get back out there but Morty just got home! He needs to shower, get new clothes that fit, readjust back into life, you know?”

Rick huffed and stopped pacing to look at his daughter “Beth, he doesn’t need to be coddled like a damn child. I’ll take him somewhere good and then slowly build him back up to our usual adventures.”

Morty stopped eating. Their usual adventures? The dangerous, frightening, soul breaking journeys he and his Rick used to do, those adventures? No. No way in hell would he ever do those again. No way would he ever leave this planet!

“Morty?” Rick asked, both adults having noticed that he wasn’t eating anymore but was instead staring wide-eyed at the space in front of him.

  
Morty didn’t hear him call, lost in thoughts of pain and agony and all kinds of torment no child should endure.

____________________________________________

_“What are the coordinates?!”_

_“Please! I don’t know!”_

_“Let’s see if we can refresh your memory then… Flip the switch!”_

_“Please no! No!”_

  
“NOOO!” Morty suddenly screeched, lashing out to fend off his insectoid tormentors. When his hand connected with someone, Morty didn’t wait to feel the sharp bite of electricity rippling through his damaged body so he just stood and bolted for the door.

Images flashed in front of his eyes, images of brain matter being splattered all around the room, huge bug creatures holding him down, pouring things into his eyes, screaming questions he didn’t know the answers to.

Something grabbed him while he was running. It wrapped around his body and dragged him to the ground, tightening every second like a vice and threatening to crush him like a twig.  
Oh God, it hurt, he was going to die! He was—

“Morty! Morty!”

The familiar voice yelled, forcing Morty to stop thrashing so violently.

Slowly, he opened his eyes to see that he was face to face with Rick, who was wide eyed fear. Morty realized that the older man’s nose was bloodied and that it was him who had dragged Morty to the ground; long limbs holding his skinny arms to he skinnier body.

“Morty, are you okay? Can you hear me?”

He stared for a moment before nodding shakily.

Rick sighed before releasing Morty from his grasp and shifting back to sit on his haunches.

“Fuck… You hit hard,” the scientist groaned, wiping his nose on the back of his sleeve “I wouldn’t have expected such a blow from someone so underweight.”

Morty couldn’t speak, and not just in the literal sense. He had lashed out at Rick? It was just a memory he had been so afraid of? But it had seemed so… _Vivid_. How was that possible? The seething pain… The cruel taunts. It had been as awful as when he had been there.

At some point Beth came over, tearstricken, and helped both Rick and Morty up. She babbled something about the two of them going to the hospital to get themselves checked out but Rick had waved it off like always. Before he knew it, Morty was being lead out of the hallway where he’d run into and escorted into the living room. He was sat on the couch and Rick sat beside him, starting to flick through the various channels as if nothing had happened.

Images still flashed in front of him, only less vividly. Would it be like this forever?

Morty sighed before curling up onto a tight ball on the end of the couch.  
He just wished he could stop remembering.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to put these chapters out there more often :)

**Author's Note:**

> That was fun, huh? Tell me what you thought


End file.
